Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-01-12
THE REAGAN BILL

The MINERS dispatches during the pas
two or three days indicate the character O
the opposition which the Interstate com
merce bill is meeting in the United State
Senate. The bill under discussion wa
agreed to by the conference committees O
both houses and passed the lower branch
OF Congress several days ago. The features
OF the bill which have provoked the mos
discussion are those which relate to pool
ing and 1.-THE long and short hand" TIL,
principal objections to these clauses com,
from the railroad companies. They con
tend that q prohibition OF pooling would
force a great many roads into bankruptcy
and produce q general decentralization o.
railroad interests throughout the country,
which would directly or indirectly ulti.
mately sadvantageousIy affect tie
business OF the country.
The bill also provides for a commission
OF five persons, to be appointed by the
President. not more than three OF whom
shall belong to any political party. The
commission is given power to investigate
abuses and enforce the law. The compa.
MES report to the commission, and com
plants by shippers and the public can be
either made to the commission or to the
courts. Unjust discrimination between
persons and places, rs well as pooling, is
prohibited. The roads are required to
give equal facilities to all customers, to
publish their rates, and to give not less
than ten days notice OF any increase Of
rates. These are the leading features Of the
bill, excepting that relating to the long and
short haul,
The long and short haul provision OF the
bill makes it unlawful 'for any railroad to
charge more for the transportation OF pas.
sengers, or OF like kind OF property, under
substantially similar circumstances and
conditions. for a shorter than for q longer
distance over the same line and in tho
same direction, the shorter being included
in the longer distance; with the proviso
that, in special cases, upon application by
a railroad, and after investigation, the
commission may prescribe the extent to
which said railroad may be relieved from
the operation OF this section" These are
the exact words OF the long and short hsul
provision.
The railroad objection to this feature
OF the bill is that it to some extent gives
local traffic the benefit OF remote competi.
ton, to which, as railroad men saw, it ia
not entitled. Circumstance may permit .
railroad to carry 100 tons OF freight for a
lower rate between terminal points 500
miles apart than between one OF these ter
minal points and a place on the same line,
and in the same direction as the other ter.
minal point, but only 400 miles distant.
The bill in it's present shape, however, does
not allow a railroad to take advantage of
this fact. This. the railroads say, works
them injustice. 1t might also, they allese,
injure the shipper by compelling the rail.
road, as a matter Of business policy, to
raise its local rates in order to make re-
ceipts meet expenditures.
Senator Platt. in his speech two or three
ago, enumerated these objections,
and laid great stress upon the provision
prohibiting pooling. Several senators are
yet to speak upon the measure. From this
distant standpoint it looks az though tho
bill, II not destroyed by amendments, will
talked to death and die in tho hands OF
the committee. Senator Cullum, h6wsver.
hopes to get a vote upon it this week.